Have your say on division arrangements for Suffolk County Council in a consultation which ends 2 December 2019
Local Government Boundary Commission for England
What is an electoral review?
Our electoral review will recommend new electoral arrangements for Suffolk County Council. We will propose:
- · the total number of councillors elected to the council in the future;
- · the number of divisions;
- · the number of councillors representing each division;
- · division boundaries; and
- · the names of divisions.
How to get involved
This is a public consultation and we welcome views from individuals and organisations across Suffolk on where they think new division boundaries should be drawn.
We are minded to recommend that 70 councillors should be elected to Suffolk County Council in the future.
This is 5 fewer than the current number of councillors.
We are now inviting proposals to help us draw up a pattern of divisions to accommodate 70 councillors.
In drawing up new electoral divisions, we must balance legal criteria, namely:
- · to deliver electoral equality: where each councillor represents roughly the same number of electors as others across the county;
- · that the pattern of divisions should, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities;
- · that the electoral arrangements should provide for effective and convenient local government.
- · The council has formally asked the Commission to carry out a single-member division review. This means that the Commission will aim to draw up a pattern of electoral divisions where each division is represented by one county councillor.
We will treat all submissions equally, and judge each case on its merits and against the legal criteria.
If you wish to put forward a view, we would also urge you to ensure that evidence supports your submission.
For example, if you wish to argue that two areas should be included in the same electoral division, make sure you tell us why they should be together, providing evidence about community facilities, ties, organisations, and amenities, rather than simply asserting that they belong together.
There is more advice on our website about how you can get involved in the consultation.
Our website features technical guidance that explains the process and our policies, as well as guidance on how to take part in each part of the process.
We have also set up a webpage dedicated to the review of Suffolk, where you can find all the relevant information.
You can also access interactive maps of the current division boundaries across Suffolk on our specialist consultation portal. The portal also allows you to draw your own boundaries, mark areas of interest on the map and upload documents directly to the site.
Further information can be found here:
http://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/eastern/suffolk/suffolk-county-council-0